Prefill agreement fields before sending

Complete known information before recipients see the agreement. Prefill fields help reduce back-and-forth, improve accuracy, and create a smoother signing experience by ensuring required data is already in place.

Adobe Acrobat Sign allows senders to enter information into specific agreement fields before the document moves to the signing phase. You can use prefill fields in a one-time agreement or in reusable templates created in the document library.

Benefits of prefill fields

Prefill fields give you more control over the agreement before it reaches recipients. Use them to:

• Enter known data in advance, such as account numbers, order details, or internal references.
• Reduce recipient errors by limiting what they must complete.
• Standardize information across agreements and templates.
• Shorten turnaround time by eliminating unnecessary clarification requests.
• Improve data quality by ensuring required values are accurate before signing begins.

When used consistently, prefill fields create a cleaner signing experience and reduce follow-up work after the agreement is sent.

Availability

• Acrobat Sign Solutions: Supported
• Acrobat Sign for Government: Supported
• Acrobat Standard and Acrobat Pro: Supported

Field types that support prefill

Only certain field types can be assigned the Sender Name(Prefill) role. These fields are completed during the prefill phase, before recipients receive the agreement.

Supported field types:

• Text field
• Payment field
• Drop-down
• Checkbox
• Radio button
• Image
• File attachment, available with business and enterprise service levels.

Other field types cannot be used during the prefill phase. Those fields can only be completed during signing. If the sender is also a signer, they can complete fields assigned to the sender (as a recipient) during the signing phase.

Transaction phases

Agreements move through the following phases:

1. Create a transaction.
   • Upload a document or select one from the document library.
2. Preview and edit phase, optional.
   • Available when the Preview, position, or add form fields option is selected.
   • Fields can be placed and edited.
3. Prefill phase, optional.
   • Available only when prefill fields are present.
   • The sender can complete the fields assigned to Prefill.
4. Signing phase.
   • Recipients sign the agreement.
   • If the sender is also a signer, they can complete fields assigned as a recipient.
5. Transaction complete.
   • All participants receive a signed and filed copy of the agreement.

Set the Prefill role before placing a field

Enterprise accounts

Enterprise accounts can select {Sender Name} (Prefill) from the recipient dropdown before placing any fields.

Acrobat Pro and Acrobat Standard accounts

In Acrobat Pro and Acrobat Standard, the {Sender Name} (Prefill) option does not appear in the recipient list until at least one field has been manually assigned to the Prefill role.

1. Select the recipient dropdown.
2. Select {Sender Name} (Prefill) from the list of recipients.
3. Drag and place all fields that should be prefilled onto the document.

Acrobat Pro and Standard accounts insert the Prefill option after the first field is manually assigned to Prefill..

Set the prefill role for an existing field

The Prefill role can be edited at the field level.

1. Select the field to open the field's menu.
2. Expand the Change recipients option
3. Select {Sender Name} (Prefill) from the list of recipients.